Day One Hundred Ninety-Two

In case it isn't already obvious, we have most definitely returned from the beach. Is that me you hear sobbing and wailing about that? YES, IT IS. It's Mila, too, but for different reasons. While that child probably should spend the rest of her life squealing with delight as waves gently lap at her ankles, I'm mostly full of the sads because I think this means I have to acknowledge that summer is over.

Dammit.

I know a lot of people are doing their best to wish away all things 2020, but I am here to declare that the summer of 2020, in a lot of ways, was the best summer ever.

Bear with me a second. I do realize how crazy that sounds, but y'all ... time stood still in the summer of 2020.

While I wouldn't ever want to repeat all of the nervousness and uncertainty, and I certainly wish the 200,000+ Americans who have lost their lives were still with us, there was a special kind of magic to the world coming to a standstill. The girls didn't have any activities. School became far less structured and scheduled. There was nowhere we needed to be. We had all these things on calendars and time blocked off for this and that, but it all vanished. All of it. *poof*

Not being able to go anywhere contributed to the magic. Instead of spending hours in a crowded mall, days shoving our way through crowds at amusement parks, and weeks crammed into convention centers, we spent the time in the woods. Leisurely hikes became the highlight of the week. The hikes were bookended with hours on the trampoline, days in the pool, and weeks of yard work. Even the simple act of me not needing to commute 15 minutes to and from the office each day added up to an extra half hour to just let summer be summer.

So much just stopped. The things that filled the gaps were gifts.

The summer of 2020 was a heaping dumpster fire of stupid in a lot of ways, but the little moments that happened close to me were worth their weight in gold. Mila chasing frogs, Alexis spending hours in the playhouse reading. A giant swing that got used so much it already needs to be replaced. Muddy feet and tan lines and wild hair and the fact that Mila hasn't worn real shoes in months.

Time just ... stood still. Now I need to figure out how to bottle up a little of that magic and bring it to our lives all of the time.

Comments

[Kathy]

I am right there with you. For all the stupid that 2020 is there are some silver linings. I had my nearly adults children home all summer long. How often to parents get to spend quality time with a 21 and 18 year-old. It was delightful and something to hang onto in the face of so much sadness.